With the popularity of recreational vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles and golf-carts, there is a challenge in safely, manageably, and cost-effectively transporting them from one location to another. These recreational vehicles are increasingly used for transportation around job sites, as utility vehicles around farms, as well as by hunters.
One method for transporting recreational vehicles includes loading it and carrying it on a utility trailer towed behind a pick-up truck or other motor vehicle. This method has drawbacks in loss of maneuverability on narrow dirt roads, necessity of a larger storage area when not in use, and poor security from theft, just to name a few.
Another method has developed in the art, which includes loading and carrying the recreational vehicle in the bed of the pick-up truck itself. This method has its own drawbacks, which include lack of enough room in a pick-up truck vehicle bed for larger recreational vehicles, as many pick-up truck vehicle beds have decreased usable space due to installed toolboxes and other accessories. This lack of usable room often results in there being insufficient space for a recreational vehicle, or unsafe transportation where a portion of the recreational vehicle hangs over the pick-up truck tailgate.
Another challenge of this method has been in loading the recreational vehicle into the pick-up truck, which often involves some form of ramp system. Often ad hoc ramps are used, which can be unstable and unsupported and pose an increased risk of injury or damage.
It is known generally to provide mechanisms that enhance the usable space of a pick-up truck vehicle bed to allow for storage and transportation of recreational vehicles, and it is also generally known to provide mechanisms that incorporate and attach ramp and storage structures to pick-up trucks that allow recreational vehicles to be loaded into and transported by pick-up trucks. Several of these transporting mechanisms are described in U.S. Patents and U.S. Patent Publications incorporated herein by reference, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,769,583; 5,816,638, and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/0172584. However, many of these mechanisms and methods also have serious drawbacks, including problems in safety, security, ease of use and manufacture, weight, and affordability. As such, there remains room for variation and improvement within the art.